Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates project at Towson

If there are any undergraduates out there reading my blog, John LaPolla at Towson University has a Research Experience for Undergraduate program opportunity available. Looks like a great opportunity.

The REU program in Molecular Ecology brings 6 highly qualified undergraduate students to Towson University in alternate years to engage in state-of-the art research integrating the fields of ecology and molecular biology. Successful applicants will work in one of three lab groups, consisting of students with interest in ecology, molecular biology/genetics, or both, and a pair of faculty mentors. Each group will use molecular approaches to address ecological questions pertaining to the biology of plants and animals. Students will live in Towson University residence halls and receive financial support in the form of a stipend, funds for housing, a basic meal plan and travel. The program is 10 weeks long with the option for a second summer of support. Students will participate in a class designed to prepare them for the Graduate Records Examination (GRE). In addition, all participants are expected to publish the results of their studies. Students with limited opportunities at their home institution or from groups under-represented in science are especially encouraged to apply. More information is available by contacting Don C. Forester at dforester@towson.edu.

There are three projects available, one of them on ants:

(1) DNA Barcoding and the Future of Life on Earth: A Case Study of Pheidole Ants John S. LaPolla, Ph.D. and Colleen S. Sinclair, Ph.D.

(2) Dissection of a symbiosis: Understanding carbon flow through wood-eating fishes Jay A. Nelson, Ph.D. and Joy E.M. Watts, Ph.D.

(3) Do Peccaries Structure the genetic Diversity of Frogs in the Amazon?
Harald Beck, Ph.D and Gail Gasparich, Ph.D.